Lover's Letters
by GirlWithTheInkStainedSoul
Summary: Continued from Western Air Temple, a few days after Zuko joins the group Sokka's heart is thumping so loudly Toph can hear it from across the room. What is it that he wants to ask her, and why does it make him so nervous? I OWN NOTHING
1. Hearts Thumping

DUNDERHEAD DATE:

DUNDERHEAD DATE:

Toph lay on the floor of the Western Air Temple, her arms crossed beneath her head. Her feet were elevated on a rock she had bended. Pain was throbbing from their soles, and a sigh escaped her lips. The newest member of their group, Zuko, a firebender, had burned them. Toph and the rest of the group didn't trust him completely yet, but Aang needed a firebending teacher. 

She laid her hand to cool floor, trying to figure out what her friends were up to. Toph was blind, but she could feel the vibrations in the earth in order to "see". After a while, Toph could "see" the rest of the gang a few feet away. Katara was on her knees, a pot a few inches away. "She must be making lunch," Toph thought to herself. But something confused Toph; the pot seemed lighter than usual, as if there wasn't enough food left for everyone. Toph shrugged, it was probably her imagination. Zuko and Aang were standing, and from what Toph could hear she knew that Zuko was teaching Aang some firebending basics. After what she had heard about Aang's last experience with fire, the young earthbender wanted to be as far away as possible. 

She attempted to stand when she felt Sokka's footsteps. She lay back down and tried to imagine his face. Once again, a sigh escaped her lips; not from pain, but from frustration. How could she like him so much if she didn't even know what he looked like? Toph laughed at herself, she never cared about anyone's appearance before. Sokka seemed to be walking toward her, and something must have been in his hand, because his right side was heavier than his left. Sokka reached Toph and sat down. His heart rate increased, and Toph wondered if he was about to tell a lie or something that made him nervous. Toph smiled; almost everything made Sokka nervous. There was a silence, but Toph broke it.

"What's going on dunderhead?"

Sokka cleared his throat before he spoke. 

"Toph…I…do you…lunch…"

"Spit it out Sokka!"

"Would you like to go eat lunch with me?!" 

He said it so fast that Toph almost didn't hear. She didn't say anything, but just starred up in a direction she hoped was his face. 

He started talking again, faster now.

"Because Katara made this picnic for me, and I was wondering if you would like to go with me to this spot in the far west of the temple, there's this waterfall and a lot of rocks so you wouldn't have that much trouble seeing, but I guess I would have to carry you of course since…"

"Sokka?"

"Ya?" There was excitement in Sokka's voice. Was she going to say yes?

"Shut up."

"Oh...right…" Sokka turned to leave, but then an earth wall came up, blocking him from leaving. 

"I didn't give you my answer yet, dunderhead."

Sokka, turned around, surprised, and a smile crept up upon his lips. 

"I'll go with you, if you stop blabbering." Toph blushed, but she smiled too.

Zuko, Katara, and Aang all sat down when Sokka first went to speak to Toph. A surprised look crossed each of their faces, but Zuko looked as though in shock. 

"I totally didn't see that coming."

Toph could tell from the way Katara's body became tense that she was giving Zuko and evil eye, which shut him up fast. 

Sokka bent down once more, to pick Toph up, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of his body, a smile still on her face. Sokka turned around, mouthed "thank you" to Katara, and walked away.


	2. Dunderhead Date

Sokka walked slowly, careful not to put Toph into any discomfort

Sokka walked slowly, careful not to put Toph into any discomfort. After a while, Toph understood Sokka's movements and laughed.

"Don't worry about me, I—"

"Toph, to me, you're as delicate as a flower…"

Toph laughed, wondering if any guy every used lines like that anymore.

"…and I don't want anything to hurt you, especially after what Zuko did…" 

Sokka sighed, wondering if he was about to regret what he was going to say. _She can't bend while she's in my arms. _

"You should have told me you were going to try and find him. I care about you too much to let anything like that ever happen again…"

Toph blushed, then looked up at Sokka. Her head had been resting on his chest as he walked, but she wanted him to see her eyes as she spoke.

"I…I care about you too, but Sokka, if Zuko hadn't hurt me, I…I wouldn't be here in your arms right now."

Toph's cheeks turned a darker shade of pink, as did Sokka's, who was smiling. 

"Well then, I guess I have to thank Zuko…Wow, never thought I would say those words."

They both laughed, but then Toph's face became serious. "We'll get used to him…but do you really think we can tr-"

"Toph, let's not worry about Zuko, or Katara, or Aang right now. It's just you and me."

"Right…"

Toph went over the last few minutes in her head as Sokka walked, so that she would remember them always. _I'm acting like such a girl! What's wrong with me? Why is it that when I'm around him, I just, I just…ugh! I can't even keep my thoughts straight! Why did I say yes? And what do I do if he tries to k-_

"We're here!" Sokka interrupted her thoughts. "What do you think? Its gorgeous isn't it?" "Just like you…" Sokka mumbled the last few words.

"What was that?"

"Huh? Oh nothing."

Sokka placed Toph on an earth pillar that was laying on the ground. The pillar was holding in the water from a fountain, so that Toph could soak her feet while they sat.

"By the way, Sokka, I couldn't tell you if its 'gorgeous' or not." Toph moved her hand back and forth in front of her face. "But I'm sure if Katara found it for you…"

Sokka laughed. "How'd ya know?"

Toph shrugged. "You just told me, but that's Katara for you."

Sokka, still smiling, replied. "Aw, that's not fair Toph. You don't think I'm capable of finding a better spot?"

Now it was Toph's turn to laugh. "Don't worry about it! It's fine."

"Really? Because if you want, I know a place with a lot of ro-"

Toph had leaned in an kissed Sokka. She pulled back.

"Shut up Dunderhead."

And leaned in to kiss him again, her cheeks red, afraid of the consequences of her boldness. But Sokka didn't pull back, and instead put his hand on her cheek. 

They pulled away, both smiling.

"That was pretty good for your first kiss." Sokka said, still smiling. "You'll get better with experience."

Toph laughed, and playfully pushed on his chest. She "looked" up at him, smiled, and leaned her head on his shoulder. Sokka wrapped him arm around her.

Both were too happy to notice Zuko, Katara, and Aang, watching from behind.


	3. Moonless Midnight

(8 days later)

       "Sokka! Shut up! They'll hear us!" Toph whispered, louder than intended. Sokka pulled her out of the main room, where their friends were sleeping. Both were in fear that Katara and Aang would wake up, _they knew how lightly the two slept._

       "_Me_ shut up? How about you? I sneeze and you flip out. I told you to wait until we're outside to talk…" Sokka's voice trailed off when he saw the hurt look in Toph's face. "Hmph" was her only reply, and with that she walked down the steps of the temple, the sound of marble on her bare feet. She was just started to heal, the soles of her feet still raw from Zuko's flames, but she refused help, even from Sokka. Toph was in obvious discomfort, but Sokka knew better than to make her even angrier by hurting her pride.

       "Aw, come on Toph, you know I was just…" Sokka had reached the bottom of the steps where Toph now stood, and after putting his hand on her shoulder; he turned her around to face him. "I was just…" he said again, but he didn't finish his sentence. A smile was on her lips, and although Toph was blind, Sokka fell deep into her lifeless, gray eyes, which were sparkling mischievously. Sokka couldn't help but return her smile with one of his own. "Most girls would giggle right about now." "Oh, I know. But I'm not like most girls." And with that, Toph pulled him into a tender kiss, his hands on her face, and hers touching his shirt lightly. Sokka was the one to pull away. "We have plans to make." As always, Toph was about to argue, she wanted another kiss, but she knew how important this was to Sokka. She only nodded and walked down another flight of stairs behind him. They stopped when they felt that they would be out of ear shock from the others.

Toph and Sokka walked into one of the many secret chambers secluded throughout the temple. This one was hidden behind the waterfall found where Sokka and Toph had their first kiss, only eight days ago. Water fell from an unknown source, landing in a fountain below. The fountain lay in the middle of this hidden room, and it was there the couple sat. Toph dripped onto the ground, happy to get the pressure off her feet, and put her back to the cold marble of the fountain. A chill ran up her spine, and as if reading her mind, Sokka sat down beside her and placed his arm along the small of her back, so that Toph wouldn't be touching the smooth ice-cold marble. With his free hand he reached into a green bag, the strap still over his shoulder. If Toph could see, she would know that this was the bag that Sokka had with him when they first met. Sokka pulled out a large red blanket, purchased from the "gaang's" fire nation days, and wrapped around his and Toph's shoulders, pulling his other arm away from Toph so that he could reach back into the bag. Toph scooted herself closer to Sokka and pulled the blanket closer to her chest, feeling the warmth of both Sokka and the cotton sheet. Sokka then yanked out a scroll, a brush, a bottle of ink, and a candle. He looked up at the night sky and pointed, it was pointless, but he did it anyway.

"The moon is only a sliver tonight, no wonder it's so dark." He pulled out a match from his pocket, and slid the end across the marble floor. The light from the match caused haunting shadows to dance upon the marble walls and floor of the room. Just as Sokka was about to touch the match to the candle, Toph grabbed his wrist and pulled back his hand, wary of where she put her fingers. The last thing she needed was another burn.

"You don realize that's our last candle, don't you?"

"Yaa…and?" Toph sighed. Sometimes Sokka was slower than usual, and this was one of those moments.

"If what we're planning is meant for tomorrow _night_," she started, stretching out the word "night" so that Sokka would understand its importance, her fingers still gripping his lower wrist. "Don't you think we'll want a candle, you know…for light?"

Sokka hated when she was right, and Toph was _always_ right. Pulling the match away from Toph, he blew out the flame and put the candle back in his bag.

"I hope that wasn't the last match."

"No, it wasn't," Sokka said with confidence, hoping that Toph wouldn't catch his lie. He knew that keeping the answer simple would make the lie easier to read, but his best friend had too much experience into pointing out lies not to catch his.

"Sokka!"

"What? Aang will be able to firebend a tiny flame; he can already do that fiery dragon dance thing w/ Zuko. You worry too much."

At first Toph was going to argue that Aang had only practiced fire bending for two days, and that without Zuko, Aang would probably burn the temple down, but she had a better idea. Toph opened her mouth to respond with "hmph" again, hoping to steal another kiss, but she felt that she had been girlie enough for one night.

"Let's get this over with."

"Right." Sokka dropped his brush into the bottle of ink that at beside him and began to write "_Dear Katara."_ Sokka glanced at Toph for the rest, who now had her head on his shoulder. Even thought Sokka hadn't moved (the only thing he had done was focus his eyes on Toph) she knew.

Without even looking up, she said "What are you looking at _me_ for? This letter is supposed to be in a _guy's_ point of view, in _Aang's_ point of view."

Toph and Sokka had decided on doing this the day after they got together. It was Katara who had gotten Sokka to ask Toph out, it was Katara who made the picnic lunch, and it was Katara who had picked the beautiful spot for their first date. (Even though Toph couldn't see how gorgeous the location really was, Sokka had described it with such detail that his words sounded like poetry.) Toph would never admit it out loud, but she wanted to thank Katara, as did Sokka. His younger sister had always been doing such great things for him, and even the smallest of favors hadn't been repaid. The couple just wanted to make Katara as happy as she made them, and that's when they had begun to devise the perfect plan.

During the few times they had spent time together, Toph and Katara had talked about the guys they had met on their travels, and about Sokka and Aang. That's how Katara found out about Toph's crush, although it had been apparent to Katara and Aang immediately. But when Katara talked about her perfect guy, she had so much detail that Toph knew who he was not long after Katara started talking.

"He's a master bender, kind of discreet and secretive about his feelings and…"

Once she got started it was hard to make her stop. Toph told Sokka this, and at first he didn't understand the connection to making Katara happy and her "secret" crush. No surprise there. Toph soon found out that Sokka thought faster under pressure, and after dangling a large boulder over his head for a little over a minute, he understood.

"Katara's secret crush is Aang!"

"Took you long enough!" And with that she had dropped the boulder.

Now they were trying to set up a date between the two, but neither Toph nor Sokka wanted their friends to know what they were up to Sokka, being "idea guy", had come up with the perfect plan, and this time Toph didn't have to bend any boulders.

"All we have to do is make them think that the other one asked them out."

"And how do you plan on doing that, Mr. Idea Guy?"

"I haven't gotten to that part of the plan ye-okay okay! We'll write a letter to each one of them, making them think that it's from the other. Then we'll get them to meet somewhere. Now put the rock _down_ Toph!"

And that's why they were there, in the hidden room behind the waterfall, to work on the letters they were going to give Aang and Katara tomorrow morning.

"I know it's supposed to be in a guy's point of view, that's why I'm asking you to tell me what to write…OW!"

Sokka rubbed the spot that Toph punched on his arm.

"That's not funny…although you technically insulted yourself, now that part's funny. Just make sure that brush you're holding has ink, I have a lot to say and I'm going to say it fast. I want to get back to sleep before the sun comes up."

Sokka dipped his brush in the bottle once again and waited for Toph.

"Dear Katara, I haven't been able to stop thinking about that kiss on 'The Day of Bla-'"

"WOH! Wait, what kiss?!"

Toph could feel the surprise in Sokka's voice, and she could definitely hear it to, he had just yelled in her ear. Slowly, Toph replied.

"I…forgot to tell you?"

"Tell me now, what happened!?"

"Calm down Sokka, it was only one kiss, you know how Katara's always pecking Aang on the check."

"Oh…it was only a peck? Why didn't you say so?"

"Um…actually, this was a real kiss…like ours."

Toph blushed, but Sokka obviously didn't see it, he was still confused.

"Toph, what happened?!"

"All right, all right. You and I went back down into the sub, and the last thing I wanted to do was sit down and get sick again, so I started walked around. I put my hand to the top of the sub for support when I felt that Aang and Katara were still up there. I felt Aang move closer to Katara quickly, and she tensed her muscles up in surprise. It's just a guess but Aang probably kissed her. Didn't you notice how happy she was after that?"

Sokka, still in shock, only nodded, his mind in another place. Toph, of course, didn't see this movement.

"Sokka!"

"Oh…ya. Actually, she was really worried about Aang after that, more that usual…Okay, you said 'That kiss on…'"

"'Day of Black Sun.' I'm sorry that I haven't acted on it until now, but I am NOW and that's what matters. I want to talk to you about it…alone. Meet me by th-"

"Wait, Toph, I don't think we should mention the kiss, just in case…"

"Fine. Let's try this again."

"Sokka grabbed another scroll from his back, he knew he was bound to make a mistake, so he brought _a_ spare. Toph started again, her voice showing minor signs of frustration at losing so much sleep.

"Dear Katara, this may come by surprise. I've been holding in my feelings for so long, and I feel that it's time to let them all out. But not here, not in this note. Please meet me by the willow tree tomorrow night, after everyone has fallen asleep. I will tell you everything then and there. –Aang."

Toph heard Sokka's brush hit the marble as he cursed under his breath.

"What'd you do?" Toph almost laughed at herself, was it wrong of her to expect Sokka to mess up?

"The brush slipped from my hands, now there's ink on my last clean shirt…Great! Aang's name is smeared! And I didn't bring another extra scroll, we only have one more, and…"

"…it's for Katara's letter." Toph finished Sokka's sentence for him. "Don't' worry about it, she'll know who its from."

Sokka nodded as he pulled out the scroll meant for Katara's letter.

"Yaaawn," this came from Toph, it was obvious the little earth bender hated staying up so late.

"Don't write that!" she said suddenly, as she pulled her head up from Sokka's shoulder.

Sokka laughed, "I'm not, now go ahead."

Toph laid her head on Sokka once more.

"Right. Although I haven't showed my true feelings since we got here, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. Meet me by the old willow tomorrow night? After everyone's asleep. I'll be waiting. –Katara."

A sigh escaped Toph's lips, she could finally rest. She closed her eyes as Sokka finished carefully writing Toph's words.

"Done."

"Finally! Let's go," Toph said quickly so that Sokka couldn't argue. She was half way up, ready to go, but Sokka grabbed her wrist, pulled her down into his lap, and flirtatiously whispered in her ear.

"We're not done yet." It was the tone of Sokka's voice that made her smile, and the sweetness of it that made her sit back down beside him.

"So what's left?" she asked patiently. Sokka seemed to know exactly what to say or do to calm her down.

"We still have to decide how to get the letters _to_ them. We could lie it down beside them while they're asleep, but that would give them time to talk about it with one another, and we don't want that."

"So we have to find a way to give it to them without letting them know its from us, and without them talking to each other. Wow, this is going to be easier than I though."

The sarcasm in Toph's voice, which was even obvious to Sokka, was stifled by another yawn. She sat up, facing Sokka, and decided to have some fun and get their work done at the same time.

"Well, I guess we're going to need that messenger hawk of yours…"Hawky" you called him? Okay, seriously, what kind of name is that?" Toph's hands were paused in the air waiting for Sokka's answer, and expecting surprise in his voice.

She had just used air quotes when she said "Hawky" Sokka had totally forgotten about that silly, crazed messenger hawk of his, but stood up for him anyway.

"I like that name! And Hawky is still trying to find your parents. For all we know he found some cactus juice and is flying around in cir-Wait. Did you just use AIR QUOTES? But you're blind."

Toph almost laughed, she had succeeded once again.

"Ya I'm blind, you got a problem with that?!" she said in her most intimidating voice.

Sokka raised his hands up defensively, his palms facing Toph.

"No, no problem, just wondering."

"Calm down Snoozles. Just playing with you."

She smiled victoriously. It was always so much fun to scare Sokka, and beyond easy. Her eyes sparkled playfully at him, and they randomly cracked up laughing.

"Okay, okay, I know you're tired, so let's finish this up."

To prove his point, Toph yawned, and instead of resting on Sokka's shoulder, he helped her lay her head on his lap, so that Sokka could see her face as he talked. Her hair was still in its headband, which Sokka touched lightly, as if asking permission. When Toph didn't reply to this silent question, he pulled the band of, and her long black hair fell to the marble floor. Sokka brushed a few loose strands from her face, and leaned into kiss her. He was half way there when he quickly pulled his head back. Unexpected feelings burst threw him, and he shook his head, confused. Toph only blinked. "So…"

"Ya? Oh, right!" Sokka's mind had been somewhere else. "Since we don't have '_Hawky._'" Sokka stopped midway in his air quotes, almost forgetting that Toph couldn't see his joke. "Since we don't have Hawky, I guess we'll have to use Momo."

Toph laughed, and Sokka only starred and listened, surprised ant how easily he could compare this sound to a sweet melody. He shook his head again, once more these feelings sweet through him, feelings he couldn't describe. What was it? Toph's voice took him away from his thoughts.

"Momo? Really? He'll probably take one letter and throw it in the abyss, then take the other and toss it into Katara's soup…which wouldn't be such a bad idea, might give it more flavor…" Toph had her "evil plan concocting" smile on, and Sokka tapped her on the nose to stray her from her thoughts.

"Don't even think about it. But seriously, do you have nay better ideas?"

"Ya, Appa." Toph closed her eyes and yawned again. _Forget this, she thought, I'm so ready for bed._

"You know Appa wouldn't do any good. Not that eh isn't useful, it's just that Aang told Haru, The Duke, and Teo to find some food since we're running short."

Toph hadn't heard this, she pretended to be asleep. Sokka continued.

"So I guess Momo's our only choice. You're going to have to explain to him what to do, while I try and figure out what to pack them for their picnic."

Toph couldn't help but argue. "There's no way I'm going to try and have a conversation with that flying lemur. You chit-chat with the monkey, I'll cook."

A surprised looked covered Sokka's face.

"You'll cook!?" Sokka imagined a pile of dirt in a picnic basket, along with a few worms for dessert. "Yaa…I'm cooking, you're dealing with Momo. Pleeeassse?"

Sokka brought his face down to Toph's, touched her nose with his, and gave her a butterfly kiss.

"Okay, okay, enough, that tickles!" Toph started to giggle, but Sokka continued.

"NOW you're giggling." Sokka ticked Toph in the ribs, who squealed and rolled away.

"Stop it!" she squealed through her giggles.

"Nope!"

Sokka crawled toward her and tickled her some more. He was on top of her now, Toph lying on her back, her laughter dying out.

"Nooppe…" he said again, slowly and almost in a whisper this time. He starred into Toph's radiant gray eyes, reminding him on the moon that wasn't out tonight. She only waited. Waited until he came down to her, pushed away the stranded of hair that covered her face, just waited. Then she brought her knees closer to her chest, placed her feet up on his torso, and playfully but powerfully pushed him away from her. He fell on his back, but Toph, "the greatest earthbender ever", skillfully knew when to bend the marble to soften his fall.

He stood up, brushed the dirt off from him, smiled, and said "No more kisses for you" in the playful tone he only used with Toph, who came to him with a satisfied smile on her face. They sat back down near the fountain, Toph's head on Sokka's lap.

"You've got 10 minutes to finish this up, or I'm going to bed."

"Will you work with Momo?"

"Fine, fine, now what else to we need to decide?"

"How to get the picnic basket to them, that is if I can find a way to make something."

"Simple, we leave the basket, along with the candle, at the willow. What else?"

YAWN.

Toph closed her eyes as she listened to Sokka babble. He did that when he was either nervous or thinking. And he wasn't thinking all that often ;) In this case it was both.

"…but I can probably find fruit somewhere, that's kind of our only option. What do you think Toph? …Toph?"

Sokka starred at his little earthbending friend, who had fallen asleep on his lap.

"You can't stop me from carrying you now," he said as he picked her up and swung his bag over his shoulder. Holding her in his arms never felt so good. He walked out of the secret chamber, THEIR secret chamber, and carried Toph off to bed.


	4. Early Morning Madness

(THE NEXT MORNING)

(THE NEXT MORNING)

Toph felt the swift running of feet coming toward her earth tent; the vibrations told her it was Sokka. The door to the tent, unusually open, shined morning light down on her face, the sun's rays not bothering her eyes as they would her friends'. 

"_Snoozles must have carried me here," she thought. "I'd never leave the tent open."_

She bended the marble structure away before Sokka could reach her, then pushed aside the blanket he had left with her. A sudden breeze blew past, and her fair slowly shifted away from her face. Toph had forgotten that her hair was down, and touched one of the free strands. 

"Oh, here," the running vibrations finally stopped, Sokka stood beside her now, and he handed Toph her headband. "I forgot to give it to you, after…" 

"Thanks," Toph cut him off, she new that if he kept talking she wouldn't be able to decease her blushing, she was embarrassed from falling asleep the night before. "And thanks for bringing me here," she said. Her cheeks turned a dark pink anyway; it was out of her control. Toph hated that, when her actions and their outcomes were out of her control. Sokka's voice jarred her from her thoughts. 

"Come on, before they get up. You need to have your little conversation with Momo…" he teased. 

At this Toph frowned, causing Sokka to pause and smile. 

"…while I salvage whatever food is around this forsaken temple. Seriously, it's like the monks just ate…air." 

Toph laughed, not at Sokka's joke per say, but the image of monks bending air into their stomachs. Sokka got the wrong impression and thought _"She really must like me if she's laughing at my jokes, usually Toph makes fun of them."_

As if reading his mind, Toph punched Sokka in the shoulder, which he rubbed in attempt to ease the pain, and replied, 

"Just don't bring back a jar of the stuff, with this altitude quality air is hard to find." 

And with that she walked off in search of Momo, letters at hand, leaving Sokka with a smile on his face. 

"Or not," he said aloud, responding to his thoughts. He turned in the opposite direction in search of something edible; remembering the cliff his earthbending friend dragged him to unwillfully not long ago. 

Toph, now in the center of the temple where the gang usually spent the day, paused as she tried to pick up Momo's movements. 

"Momo!" she half whispered, half yelled. 

Zuko slept in a room not far away from where she stood, and the last thing she wanted was to get him involved. 

"Mo-" A scampering sound stopped her, and then an unforgettable _cheep!_ The girl turned around, a half smile on her face, and held out her arms for the flying lemur to scurry to. 

"Hey Momo," she said quietly, hoping not to wake anyone just yet. She reached into her right pocket, where she had placed Katara's letter. 

"Give this to Katara. Hurry up, come on!" He only cocked his head to one side and chirped, causing a sigh to escape Toph's lips.

"Ka-tar-a. KATARA!" 

"Morning Toph." 

"Hey Kata—aa ah!" 

She had been so focused on Momo she hadn't even noticed Katara's footsteps, after Aang's hers were the lightest. 

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, you scared me, that's all. You're up early…" Toph tried to stay calm, as always. She didn't expect Katara to be awake, her mind searching for a plan. 

"I could say the same to you. I got up to see what I could make with the little food we have left."

With this Toph smiled, thinking of Sokka's struggle to find something, anything, for the picnic. Katara continued, 

"Usually I have to drag you out of bed, splash you with cold water…"

At this Toph groaned. 

"What's that in your hands?"

"_Stupid! Stupid stupid!!"_ Toph thought to herself. She should have hidden it as soon as she heard a voice. Then an idea came to her. 

"Oh, um, this?" Toph held out the letter. "I don't know, Momo just brought it to me. I was going to wait until you woke up, but..." 

Toph still had the scroll at arms length of Katara, who took and unrolled it. After a minute or two or silence _("Shouldn't take this long to read it!")_ Toph sensed Katara's muscled tense, and although she couldn't see it, she could tell her friend was blushing. 

"Oh…I…" 

"What is it Katara?" Toph asked innocently, waiting for the lie in Katara's voice. And there it was. 

"Hm? Oh, its just a list of supplied we need. I must have forgotten to give it to…" 

Her voice trailed off. "I better get breakfast started." She couldn't have left fast enough. 

"_One down, one to go,"_ Toph thought. "MOMO!"


	5. Fruit

"Ah

"Ah! That's it, I give up!" Claaack! The echo of Sokka's sword hitting the marble floor bounced off the temple walls.

"There is no food in this fu- OW!" Sokka looked up, trying to determine _what_ just hit him on the head. "Food!" he screamed, as he began climbing a mango tree he could have _sworn_ wasn't there before.

"Just…a few…more." Climbing was definitely not his thing. "Got cha!" Sokka grabbed at the ripest looking mango he could find.

Splat! "Well that's just **great**!" he screamed as Sokka banged his head against the trunk of the tree while holding on for life.

"JUST GREAT!"

--

"Ok Momo, I'll explain this one more time. Take this," Toph held up the second letter that was supposedly from Katara, "to AANG."

Momo only chirped, which was probably the tenth time in the last twenty minutes.

"The short dude with tattoos…come ON!" How long would it be before the earthbender completely lost her patience and stormed over to Aang herself?

Toph sighed, "He's probably smiling in his sleep…" Understanding seemed to finally register to the flying lemur, who grabbed the letter in his hands and flew off toward the main rooms.

"FINALLY!" she screamed, falling backing onto the cool marble.

"Finally what?"

"AH!" Toph bended herself up in surprised, for the second time that day she had focused so much on the lemur she hadn't noticed Zuko walk in.

"Um..." Toph felt for vibrations in the earth, then noticed a small fruit near her feet, one Katara must have dropped.

"Momo ran off with my breakfast, and I was waiting for him to drop it, since I cant 'see' while he's in the air." Toph stomped, and the fruit jumped into her hand.

"See?" As Toph held it, she noticed it was different from the shape of any other fruit she'd help before, it seemed like a bunch of tiny hills, jumping towards and away the heart.

"What kinda fruit is this?" she asked as she handed it to Zuko, stalling.

"Katara give this to you?"

"Sugar Queen? Ya, she did…"

"This is star fruit." Zuko took Toph's hand, running a finger over the ends of the fruit.

"It's somewhat shaped like a star…" Zuko reached into his pocket for his knife, and a sliver carving on the blade sparkled in the sunlight. He split the fruit into two, and sitting above the yellow flesh of the fruit sat five small black seeds, arranged to make a star. Zuko gave Toph half, who bit in, juice dripping down from her cheeks.

"Katara shouldn't have given this to you, the skin can only be severed with a blade."

"No big deal Sparky." Toph plopped down on the marble, face and hands sticky from the fruit juice, the other layer of the star fruit falling beside her. _I've finished my part in all of this, I'm entitled to a little fun…_

Zuko sat down beside her, cutting small pieces of fruit from the core, balancing it on his blade, and then flipping it into his mouth in ease, watching the young earthbender. She jutted a thin marble triangle from the ground, then, balancing it between her hands, played around with the form before she was satisfied.

With one hand above her head, directing the blade shaped marble, and another on the cool floor, she swept her hand in the air, and the dagger hit her fruit, dead on, slicing it in half. The impact was so strong that the fruit juice splattered all over Zuko, who only starred at Toph, half amazed and half angry. She cocked her head sideways at Zuko as if to reply to his silence, but then shrugged.

"That's just how I do, Sparks," and with a laugh she walked away, leaving the firebender sticky with fruit juice.

--

Sokka had a headache now, both from banging his head on the trunk of a very hard tree and from the frustration that while banging his head, more and more mangos dropped from their branches. He jumped down and began walking again, realizing the making Toph forage for food would have been easier, at least she could feel where everything was. And Zuko knew the fire nation land, but he couldn't be let in on the secret. Sokka didn't trust him yet, after all, he burned Toph.

"But he seems to be getting along with everyone just fine…" Sokka thought. The young man's slow registering brain finally realized what his eyes hadn't seen. "Sometimes a little too helpful when it comes to—"

Rustle rustle Sokka heard a sound to his right; something was moving around in the bushes. "Meat," he whispered, and slowly walked over to the bush. "Oh no, not again." It was a moose-lion cub, one of the last types of meat Sokka expected to see. But he knew better to approach it; not only could the mother be close by, but he had grown found of the creature after his bonding with Fu-Fu-Cuddly-Puffs.

Suddenly the earth shook. "You can't scare me Toph, where are you?" But it wasn't Toph at all. Sokka looked down at the moose-lion cub, and beside it a small hole had formed. A baby badger-mole erupted from the earth, and before Sokka knew what was happening, the two small animals began to…cuddle. Sokka was unsure what to do at first, he only wished Toph could see it. He mentally hit himself, forgetting once more that his earthbending friend was blind. Sokka turned around, taking one last look at the "couple," and back to the temple.


	6. Fishlips' Flowers

"Oh what to wear, what to wear!" Toph smirked as she listened to Katara worry within her bedroom, acting as if she had a closet full of clothes to choose from.

Toph continued past Katara's, towards Sokka's room at the end of the hall. If she didn't check and see if the warrior had found any food-and if he had, he'd probably starting eating it soon-there would be no telling whether he had failed or not.

Toph continued forward, but not before passing Zuko's room. The door was closed, but Toph didn't need it open to tell what was going on. Zuko was pacing; meaning he was either frustrated, confused, planning something, or as usual, impatient. Toph snickered, knowing it was probably E: All of the above. Aang's room was empty, meaning he was probably preparing for his date with Katara or still training.

"Twinkletoes should get Sweetness some flowers," Toph thought, once again scheming. She had finally reached Sokka's room. The earthbender knocked, then bent the marble door away, her impatience and Toph-like behavior getting the best of her.

"Miss me, Snoozles?" she asked, before leaping on the warrior for a hug. _Damn, I've got to stop acting like such a girl,_ she thought.

"Hey…" Sokka replied, hugging the earthbender back. His vibrations and tone alerted Toph that he was nervous.

"You didn't find anything, did you?" Toph asked, pulling away from Sokka. She planted a teasing frown on her face.

"Oh, I found some…I just couldn't bring it with me… Unless you want to serve them mango juice?"

Toph shook her head, smiling at Sokka's teasing. "No picnic, I guess…It would probably give us away…I was thinking, what about flowers? We could find some and leave them at Aang's door, so when he goes to meet Katara he'll just take them with him…" Toph noticed that Sokka was being abnormally quiet. "Snoozles? What's up?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing," Sokka shifted his feet, a sign to Toph that he was still nervous. "I just thought you'd be mad or disappointed. I'm a hunter, and I couldn't find…No, I couldn't _bring back_ **anything**!"

Toph punched Sokka in the gut before he could continue. "Enough with the self pity, Snoozles. I'll love you no matter how many mistakes you make." Toph stopped herself from continuing and stepped back, just realizing the words she had chosen. Her cheeks became a deep crimson.

"Did you…did you just say?" Sokka was just as surprised, and blushed as well. Without thinking he took a step forward, hesitated for an instant, and then planted his lips on Toph's. His hands rested on her hips, and before he could pull away Toph responded to the kiss as well, leaning in. She wrapped her arms around Sokka's neck, and they kissed until neither could breathe.

Toph rested the side of her face on Sokka's chest, listening to his heartbeat as it thumped in rhythm with hers. Both were panting.

Sokka was the first to speak after he caught his breath. He looked down at the earthbender, whose empty eyes shined back at him.

"You know I love you too, right?" he said with a smile.

"You better Snoozles. You better."

The couple stayed in one another's arms a minute longer, but Toph pulled away.

"Come on Snoozles, we have some flowers to find."

"Uh…What?"

"We're going to help Aang out. Get him some flowers to give to Katara. Twinkletoes isn't much of a romantic; he would have made a real move by now. I told you, he just needs a push in the right direction. Isn't that why we're doing all of this?"

Toph didn't wait for an answer, instead pulling Sokka along behind her. The couple reached one of the brightest corners of the temple, **their**corner, where the waterfall that hid their secret room could be found. Toph waited away from the flowers, since they were so light that they didn't give off many vibrations and she didn't want to trample them, while Sokka picked enough for a descent bouquet.

"I've never seen flowers like these before…They're white on the inside and a dark, bloody red color outlines the edges. I wonder what kind they are…"

"The fire nation is full of weird wildlife. Just grab the flowers so we can go Snoozles. I'm getting bored."

A smile traced Sokka's lips, a plan forming in his mind. He walked over to the little earthender, who was seated on a rock near the water, leaned down and said, "I think I know a way to keep you entertained," and pushed his lips on hers. Toph, slightly surprised, had her eyes wide open until she to leaned into the kiss. But it was Sokka who pushed harder, and a second later both were in the water, soaking wet.

"Sokka you idiot!" Toph cried, trying to push Sokka off of her. Luckily the water was shallow; otherwise the earthbender would be having a heart attack.

"Aw, you love me anyway Toph. You said so yourself," and with a smile the warrior kissed the earthbender again, who didn't protest.

Toph pulled away, then pushed Sokka off her and stood up. "Lets go Fishlips, we have flowers to deliver." She walked away, not waiting for a still dripping to Sokka to get out of the fountain.

"**Fishlips?!** Toph!!"

A/N: So I've totally neglected this story. Sorry, but I've been having too much fun with Story Teller's Secrets. Are you guys ready for Tokka Week? I sure am!! Let's give a round of applause to all participators and anyone who helped set the week up! Everyone have fun, whether writing or drawing. 3 Tokka!!


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